Gabriele D'Annunzio, or "Evil Proto-Fascist Magnificent Bastard"

[Brandon's Impotent Rage]

You know, I'm just gonna come out and say it....

This guy fascinates the hell out of me.

Seriously, neither the greatest dramatist or the worst of pulp hack writers could have invented this guy. This man was the type of person whom you'd expect would be a Mary Sue in some badly written fan fiction by some angry, fedora wearing nerd in a basement somewhere.

And yet, he was real.

Everyone knows this guy is supposed to have been the 'John the Baptist' of what would later be known as Italian Fascism. But that just barely treads the waters of the Magnificent Insanity that was D'Annunzio.

Things he was and did:

-Was a popular and acclaimed author and poet. He wrote tons of poetry, several novels and plays, a few librettos, and co-wrote the screenplay for one of the classics of the silent film era. I've read some of his poems, and one of his novels. Despite everything else, he was a great author.

-He went through women like an asthmatic goes through inhalers. Seriously, he was like the real life version of Harry Flashman in how utterly shameless he was at his womanizing.....and I mean that in the worst way possible (seriously, not all of this was consensual).

-He was narcissistic to an almost psychotic degree. He genuinely believed that he was some kind of Nietzschean ubermensch (or atleast his idea of one), that he treated everyone else as if they were below him. He blew all of his money on expensive clothes, foods, flowers, etc. just so he could show off his obvious superiority. There are also some.....'ahem'....revealing photos made of his where he shows himself off like some kind of sex god.

-He later gained fame during WWI as a fighter pilot and daredevil, becoming a member of the well-known Arditi, the storm troopers of the Royal Italian Army (this part comes back into play in a minute). He orchestrated and flew in an almost suicidally risky air raid known as the Flight over Vienna.

-Not only was he a hardcore Ultra-Nationalist, but he was willing to take over a whole goddamn city in order to prove it. In 1919, when the city of Fiume was handed over to the allies, D'Annunzio and several of his former comrades in the Arditi marched into the city and fucking took it over, forming the Italian Regency of Carnaro. This is where the talk of proto-fascism comes into play.....because in many ways, D'Annunzio's regime was just that. It was a bizarre combination of Nationalist, 'Anarchist' and Bourgeoisie Democratic ideals. D'Annunzio was the self-proclaimed 'Duce', the state was divided up into nine corporations to represent different economic sectors (plus a tenth created solely for 'the superior men'). There were constant rallies, speeches from a balcony, roman salutes.....yeah, obvious where Mussolini got alot of his ideas from.


So....yeah, you see why this guy fascinates me?

In many ways, you could compare him to another writer/ultra-nationalist: Yukio Mishima. Really, look at the similarities. Both of them were prolific, acclaimed authors. Both had a love for and a knack for drama. Both of them were extremely narcissistic and obsessed with personal appearances. And both had their literary achievements virtually overshadowed by later actions of political extremism...big difference of course being that D'Annunzio survived his.

[Trap Queen Voxxy]

Aside from historical curiosity perhaps, I don't see why you think this guy is so cool. He seems like a total douche even with his atrocious politics aside. Someone who seeks personal validation through sex is pretty pathetic.

[NGNM85]

In many ways, you could compare him to another writer/ultra-nationalist: Yukio Mishima. Really, look at the similarities. Both of them were prolific, acclaimed authors. Both had a love for and a knack for drama. Both of them were extremely narcissistic and obsessed with personal appearances. And both had their literary achievements virtually overshadowed by later actions of political extremism...big difference of course being that D'Annunzio survived his.

I don't know anything about D'Annunzio, (or, I didn't, until now) but I find Yukio Mishima oddly fascinating. I've gotta pick up a good biography somewhere.

[GiantMonkeyMan]

I've always found the White General, Roman Ungern von Sternberg, also known as the 'Mad Baron' to be a fascinating piece of history. He thought of himself as a reincarnation of Ghengis Khan and that he was recreating the Mongol Empire. Reactionary as fuck and totally deserving of his execution but still part of that 'what the fuck' fascinating.

[Brandon's Impotent Rage]

@VoX p°PuŁï

I don't think he was 'cool'. I think he was an appalling human being and an utter sociopath. I do, however, find his many talents and his insane level of personal courage to be endearing. He was a genuine renaissance man. Renaissance men fascinate me.

I'm also fascinated by insanity. D'Annunzio was obviously insane. What else would you call a man who during the war actually charged at an Austro-Hungarian trench line, wearing a cape and holding a revolver in each hand and a knife between his teeth?